NBC Cancels 'Smash' After Two Seasons

NBC; Getty Images

"Smash"

The Broadway drama and Bob Greenblatt pet project has been dropped after its dismal second season.

The show is over for Smash.

NBC has opted to cancel the much maligned Broadway musical drama starring Debra Messing, Katherine McPhee and Megan Hilty. After a dismal return to NBC's 2012-13 schedule, the drama --which was rebooted under new showrunner Josh Safran-- was bumped to Saturdays in March.

Despite the infusion of Broadway stars, an arc by Jennifer Hudson and cameos from Rosie O'Donnell and Liza Minelli, among others, the once lauded series is averaging a measly 0.8 among adults 18-49 and just under 3 million total viewers -- a far cry from its Voice-boosted freshman run.

The high-profile drama was a passion project for the NBC entertainment chairman, BobGreenblatt, who brought the drama with him from his former post at Showtime. The episodic cost of Smash was said to in the neighborhood of $4 million, largely in part to pricey production numbers and a large ensemble cast.

Smash, which counted Steven Spielberg among its executive producers, will complete its 17-episode sophomore season on May 26, with Safran acknowledging that the final episode was crafted as a "series finale."